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Articles on Assisted suicide

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Right to die activist Sean Davison (left) speaks to the press after three years of house arrest. Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images

The right to die: unpacking an ethical dilemma in South Africa

People make decisions throughout their lives about their health. But when they are terminally ill they are not allowed to decide when they want to die.
The stress over their ability to swallow can provoke a great deal of anxiety in patients. eyepark/Shutterstock.com

Assisted dying is not the easy way out

Nine states and the District of Columbia currently have laws that permit assisted dying, but the laws are so restrictive that they are often more hurdle than help.
If the bill clears its final hurdle next week, Western Australia will become the second state in Australia after Victoria to legalise voluntary assisted dying. from www.shutterstock.com

Western Australia looks set to legalise voluntary assisted dying. Here’s what’s likely to happen from next week

A marathon round of amendments and parliamentary debate will likely see voluntary assisted dying implemented in WA in around 18 months. It’s time to start preparing.
Critics of assisted suicide often raise moral objections while proponents focus on the trauma of terminally ill patients. But all arguments have a long history. from www.shutterstock.com

As NZ votes on euthanasia bill, here is a historical perspective on a ‘good death’

The arguments in favour or against euthanasia have a long history, going back to the Hippocratic oath that doctors still swear today.
Without an understanding of the complexities of medically assisted dying, it’s difficult for patients and families to make good decisions. (Shutterstock)

Why people choose medically assisted death revealed through conversations with nurses

Nurses who surround the process of medically assisted dying are an important source of insight into the real conversations our society needs to have about what it’s really like.
A 69-year-old man is in jail for encouraging his wife to commit suicide so he could get the $1.4 million from her life insurance policies.

Encouraging suicide or committing manslaughter?

A 69-year-old man is in jail for encouraging his wife to suicide but some have wondered why he wasn’t charged with a more serious offence.
Medical assistance in dying has been legal in Canada since July 2016, but there are no ‘specialists’ responsible for doctor-assisted suicide and many doctors are overwhelmed with requests. (Shutterstock)

Who will be the doctors of death in a time of assisted suicide?

More than 2,000 Canadians have chosen medical assistance in dying (MAID) since legalization in 2016. But palliative care doctors aren’t embracing assisted suicide as part of their job.
Debbie Ziegler, mother of the late Brittany Maynard, in Sacramento in September 2015, encouraging the passage of California’s End-of-Life Options Act. Maynard, who had brain cancer, had to move to Oregon so she could end her life legally in 2014. AP Photo/Carl Costas

Death as a social privilege? How aid-in-dying laws may be revealing a new health care divide

People who seek aid in dying tend to be white men older than 65, a new analysis shows. While this could be due to religious views, here’s why it could also be because of lack of access.
Existential suffering refers to an individual experiencing a lack of meaning or sense of purposelessness in life. Zack Minor/Unsplash

Viewpoints: should euthanasia be available for people with existential suffering?

Imagine this situation: a person has no medical illness but wishes to end his or her life purely because he or she no longer wishes to live. Should they be eligible for euthanasia or assisted suicide?

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